This post is going to be short and sweet for a change because it's getting late and I'm tired!
1. Audrey's good doctor's report, of course. And so far, she hasn't had any side effects from her immunizations. Please pray that continues.
2. My brother and sister-in-law's moving situation. Their house is under contract and they have a contract on a house. All of this has happened incredibly quickly for them, which is amazing considering the current market. Pray it goes smoothly and that all the details work out.
3. Marshall's/TJ Maxx. I actually have a love-hate relationship with these stores, but today they're on the good list. As far as David is concerned, they rank right up there with Kroger and WalMart. His philosophy is that if they can't bother to face the clothes towards you on the rack, it's not worth it. Anyway, last week I walked away from a pair of shoes at DSW that I really liked because I couldn't bring myself to pay their price. This week I found the exact same pair at TJ Maxx for 50% less!
4. Mozilla Firefox. After having major difficulties with Explorer tonight, I finally broke down and downloaded Firefox. It works beautifully! (Yes, I realize I'm incredibly behind the times in doing this. I don't like change, okay?!)
5. Coffee. The cooler mornings we've had lately have caused me to break out my coffee maker and brew a few pots this week. Even if it's decaf and mine consists of about 50% cream, it's still a great way to start the day.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
It's Not Easy Being Green
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
We had a great doctor’s appointment today. Audrey got a good report and was such a trooper about her immunizations. We followed her Aunt Kim’s recommendation of the pacifier dipped in sugar water and it worked like a charm. She screamed and cried when the nurse stuck her, but she quit crying the second I picked her up and then fell asleep before we could get her to the car. We didn’t even have to use Tylenol (yet, at least)! The look of shock and betrayal on her face will wear on me long after her little band-aids come off, though. The great news is that she weighs 11 lbs 11 oz and is 23 inches long. My little Chunk gained two pounds (right on track!) since her one month visit. I must admit, I was really worried about this. As Kim pointed out, though, I was worrying right through packing up clothes that no longer fit or trying to clean under her double-chin! Silly Mommy.
What follows is an extremely boring detail of feeding and weight issues that we’ve been going through for the past few weeks. I must warn you that unless you’re Audrey’s grandparent, you’ll probably fall asleep before you make it to the end. I don’t blame you. Nonetheless, I wanted to document the ordeal so I can remember for myself (and so I can have evidence when AJ is fifteen and yelling that I don’t care about her):
Rewind to about four weeks ago when Audrey was 5 ½ weeks old. Out of nowhere her…ah-hem…poop had turned from cheery sunshine yellow (as it should be in breastfed babies) to various shades of green. After a couple of days of this and lots of research, I decided to call the lactation consultant at the hospital. I was worried that perhaps my new exercise routine or my cutting back on my calories may have affected my milk supply (I wasn’t doing anything severe by any means. Just reducing my calories to what one nursing mother requires, instead of my previously eating what several nursing mothers, a female body builder, an active construction worker, and a baby elephant would need to survive.)
Anyway, the lactation consultant said that this new color could actually indicate overfeeding. While I was feeding Audrey the correct number of times per day, she thought that perhaps I was forcing her to continue past the point that she was finished. Thus began my shortened nursing sessions. The second that child started falling asleep, I’d cut her off instead of trying to keep her awake like before. I never let her go longer than three hours between daytime feedings, but if she’d act hungry at two and a half, I’d try to stretch her out. I also began single-side feedings only, to make sure she was getting enough hind milk. I’d read that the green poop can also indicate a deficiency of this calorie-rich portion of the meal.
Fast forward to two weeks later, when AJ was about 7 ½ weeks old. I had a hunch that she wasn’t gaining weight as quickly as she needed to be. On top of that, her poop was still green. I decided the first lactation specialist I’d spoken to must have been wrong, so I called the one at our pediatrician’s office. I asked her if we could come by for a weigh-in and a consultation. We headed up there the next day and I held my breath as I placed Audrey on the scale. She was 10 lbs 11 oz. Even though that was almost a pound in the three weeks since her one month check-up, it was still about 5-7 oz below where I thought she needed to be. She still needed to be gaining about two pounds per month at this point. The lactation specialist didn’t seem concerned. I asked if I needed to be waking her up at night or pumping and measuring and she said no.
As far as the green poop, she said it was likely something in my diet that was upsetting Audrey’s tummy. She grilled me about any changes I’d made around the time the color shift occurred. I thought long and hard and finally told her that other than cutting out the bowl of ice cream and brownie every night, there hadn’t been any difference at all. She agreed that probably wasn’t the cause, while silently judging me I’m sure. She suggested I go on the BRATT (bananas, rice, applesauce, tea, and toast) diet for a few days and then gradually add things back in order to figure out what was causing the color difference. She also suggested I start going back to double-side feedings at each nursing session.
I walked out of there discouraged and annoyed. I had followed the first lactation consultant’s advice and now my baby wasn’t fattening up like she needed to be. Furthermore, the second lactation specialist was convinced that some change I had made to my diet was causing my little darling discomfort and undesirably colored bowel movements. I, however, knew I hadn’t changed a doggone thing about what I was ingesting. I eat the same things now that I did five years ago with the exception of mustard, more fruits, and a multi-vitamin - none of which is new since Audrey came along.
That night, after venting my frustrations and overly-concerned maternal anxieties to my very patient husband, we came to several conclusions. First, David intelligently declared that no one really knows what they’re talking about when it comes to babies. Everyone has their own opinion and they vary so widely that you can drive yourself crazy trying to follow each suggested tip. He also helped me realized that we shouldn’t take advice from someone over the phone, as I did with the first lactation consultant. (We are, however, going to allow two exceptions to this “not over the phone” rule: our pediatrician and our friend Nurse Holly. Sorry, Holly.)
Most importantly, we decided to feed the baby when she is hungry and let her stop when she and I both agree she has had enough. Sometimes she needs some encouragement to stay awake and I don’t think this means that she is going to become morbidly obese down the road and appear on Dr. Phil blaming me for making her fat and ruining her life. I still don’t let her go more frequently than 2.5 hours with the exception of her evening feedings, as she has developed her own cluster feeding pattern by eating around 5:30ish, 7:30ish, and 9:30ish. I think it’s her way of tanking up for the night. (And while we’re thankful she is going for long stretches at night, this cluster feeding in the evenings puts a major strain on date nights! McDonald’s for thirty minutes is looking crazy romantic at this stage in our lives.) Anyway, I don’t let her go longer than 3 hours during the day, but this rarely has to be “enforced.” I’ll reevaluate that part if I have to start waking her up from naps on a regular basis. I also went back to nursing on both sides each time. (And, wow, I haven’t felt pain like that since the first week! I know, I know…TMI)
This system is what’s known as “Parent Directed Feeding” or the E.A.S.Y. method by some of the baby care books. Up until I spoke with the first lactation specialist, I was using these techniques. After being temporarily sidetracked, I decided to start using them again along with my own stinkin’ intuition for a change. I call it the “Mama Knows Best” method.
So, I ignored the BRATT diet suggestion, implemented my MKB method, and prayed. As you read at the beginning of this rant, it worked. Our sweet girl gained two pounds in two weeks and is doing great! Her thighs are beginning to resemble mine these days, which is great for her and hopefully temporary for me. As for the green poop? It’s still around. Holly changed a diaper and saw it with her own medically-trained eyes. She said A) it was fine and to quit worrying and B) they get more questions at her office about poop color than any other topic, so I shouldn’t feel like a total paranoid freak. (Okay, so she didn’t say I shouldn’t feel like a total paranoid freak, but her statement about getting all those questions let me off the hook in my own mind. She knows me well enough to know I’m always going to be a total paranoid freak.)
Thank you, God, for a healthy report. And for green poop. It’s much better than white, black, red, or no poop at all. One of my childcare books summed it up nicely, "If the color bothers you that much, wear sunglasses when you change the diaper."
Like my previous post about the Maxeys stated, we are so very blessed to have a healthy child. Maybe one day I'll be able to quit worrying so much. I think about the time I do, she'll get her driver's license and start dating. Crap.
What follows is an extremely boring detail of feeding and weight issues that we’ve been going through for the past few weeks. I must warn you that unless you’re Audrey’s grandparent, you’ll probably fall asleep before you make it to the end. I don’t blame you. Nonetheless, I wanted to document the ordeal so I can remember for myself (and so I can have evidence when AJ is fifteen and yelling that I don’t care about her):
Rewind to about four weeks ago when Audrey was 5 ½ weeks old. Out of nowhere her…ah-hem…poop had turned from cheery sunshine yellow (as it should be in breastfed babies) to various shades of green. After a couple of days of this and lots of research, I decided to call the lactation consultant at the hospital. I was worried that perhaps my new exercise routine or my cutting back on my calories may have affected my milk supply (I wasn’t doing anything severe by any means. Just reducing my calories to what one nursing mother requires, instead of my previously eating what several nursing mothers, a female body builder, an active construction worker, and a baby elephant would need to survive.)
Anyway, the lactation consultant said that this new color could actually indicate overfeeding. While I was feeding Audrey the correct number of times per day, she thought that perhaps I was forcing her to continue past the point that she was finished. Thus began my shortened nursing sessions. The second that child started falling asleep, I’d cut her off instead of trying to keep her awake like before. I never let her go longer than three hours between daytime feedings, but if she’d act hungry at two and a half, I’d try to stretch her out. I also began single-side feedings only, to make sure she was getting enough hind milk. I’d read that the green poop can also indicate a deficiency of this calorie-rich portion of the meal.
Fast forward to two weeks later, when AJ was about 7 ½ weeks old. I had a hunch that she wasn’t gaining weight as quickly as she needed to be. On top of that, her poop was still green. I decided the first lactation specialist I’d spoken to must have been wrong, so I called the one at our pediatrician’s office. I asked her if we could come by for a weigh-in and a consultation. We headed up there the next day and I held my breath as I placed Audrey on the scale. She was 10 lbs 11 oz. Even though that was almost a pound in the three weeks since her one month check-up, it was still about 5-7 oz below where I thought she needed to be. She still needed to be gaining about two pounds per month at this point. The lactation specialist didn’t seem concerned. I asked if I needed to be waking her up at night or pumping and measuring and she said no.
As far as the green poop, she said it was likely something in my diet that was upsetting Audrey’s tummy. She grilled me about any changes I’d made around the time the color shift occurred. I thought long and hard and finally told her that other than cutting out the bowl of ice cream and brownie every night, there hadn’t been any difference at all. She agreed that probably wasn’t the cause, while silently judging me I’m sure. She suggested I go on the BRATT (bananas, rice, applesauce, tea, and toast) diet for a few days and then gradually add things back in order to figure out what was causing the color difference. She also suggested I start going back to double-side feedings at each nursing session.
I walked out of there discouraged and annoyed. I had followed the first lactation consultant’s advice and now my baby wasn’t fattening up like she needed to be. Furthermore, the second lactation specialist was convinced that some change I had made to my diet was causing my little darling discomfort and undesirably colored bowel movements. I, however, knew I hadn’t changed a doggone thing about what I was ingesting. I eat the same things now that I did five years ago with the exception of mustard, more fruits, and a multi-vitamin - none of which is new since Audrey came along.
That night, after venting my frustrations and overly-concerned maternal anxieties to my very patient husband, we came to several conclusions. First, David intelligently declared that no one really knows what they’re talking about when it comes to babies. Everyone has their own opinion and they vary so widely that you can drive yourself crazy trying to follow each suggested tip. He also helped me realized that we shouldn’t take advice from someone over the phone, as I did with the first lactation consultant. (We are, however, going to allow two exceptions to this “not over the phone” rule: our pediatrician and our friend Nurse Holly. Sorry, Holly.)
Most importantly, we decided to feed the baby when she is hungry and let her stop when she and I both agree she has had enough. Sometimes she needs some encouragement to stay awake and I don’t think this means that she is going to become morbidly obese down the road and appear on Dr. Phil blaming me for making her fat and ruining her life. I still don’t let her go more frequently than 2.5 hours with the exception of her evening feedings, as she has developed her own cluster feeding pattern by eating around 5:30ish, 7:30ish, and 9:30ish. I think it’s her way of tanking up for the night. (And while we’re thankful she is going for long stretches at night, this cluster feeding in the evenings puts a major strain on date nights! McDonald’s for thirty minutes is looking crazy romantic at this stage in our lives.) Anyway, I don’t let her go longer than 3 hours during the day, but this rarely has to be “enforced.” I’ll reevaluate that part if I have to start waking her up from naps on a regular basis. I also went back to nursing on both sides each time. (And, wow, I haven’t felt pain like that since the first week! I know, I know…TMI)
This system is what’s known as “Parent Directed Feeding” or the E.A.S.Y. method by some of the baby care books. Up until I spoke with the first lactation specialist, I was using these techniques. After being temporarily sidetracked, I decided to start using them again along with my own stinkin’ intuition for a change. I call it the “Mama Knows Best” method.
So, I ignored the BRATT diet suggestion, implemented my MKB method, and prayed. As you read at the beginning of this rant, it worked. Our sweet girl gained two pounds in two weeks and is doing great! Her thighs are beginning to resemble mine these days, which is great for her and hopefully temporary for me. As for the green poop? It’s still around. Holly changed a diaper and saw it with her own medically-trained eyes. She said A) it was fine and to quit worrying and B) they get more questions at her office about poop color than any other topic, so I shouldn’t feel like a total paranoid freak. (Okay, so she didn’t say I shouldn’t feel like a total paranoid freak, but her statement about getting all those questions let me off the hook in my own mind. She knows me well enough to know I’m always going to be a total paranoid freak.)
Thank you, God, for a healthy report. And for green poop. It’s much better than white, black, red, or no poop at all. One of my childcare books summed it up nicely, "If the color bothers you that much, wear sunglasses when you change the diaper."
Like my previous post about the Maxeys stated, we are so very blessed to have a healthy child. Maybe one day I'll be able to quit worrying so much. I think about the time I do, she'll get her driver's license and start dating. Crap.
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Please Pray
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
David and I would like to ask you to join us in praying for Kirk and Natalie Maxey and their family. We met this sweet couple years ago at our former church. Five years ago, they lost their daughter Madeline to cancer when she was just over a year old. They are now encountering the same horrific situation with their daughter Annette, who is 10 months old.
Sitting through Maddy's funeral was one of the most difficult hours of my life. I remember staring at that tiny casket, doubting and questioning God while listening to Natalie and Kirk praise His sovereignty. It broke me then, but now that we have Audrey in our lives, it rips my heart out on a whole new level. They are amazing, strong people, to say the least.
Please pray for them, their three year old son Grant, and their extended family. You can read more of their story at http://www.maxeyweb.com/
Thank you, Jesus, for our healthy daughter, nephew, and niece. May we never forget or take for granted what a blessing that is.
Sitting through Maddy's funeral was one of the most difficult hours of my life. I remember staring at that tiny casket, doubting and questioning God while listening to Natalie and Kirk praise His sovereignty. It broke me then, but now that we have Audrey in our lives, it rips my heart out on a whole new level. They are amazing, strong people, to say the least.
Please pray for them, their three year old son Grant, and their extended family. You can read more of their story at http://www.maxeyweb.com/
Thank you, Jesus, for our healthy daughter, nephew, and niece. May we never forget or take for granted what a blessing that is.
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Weekend Review
Monday, August 24, 2009
I’ve been working on a post for several days now, but have decided to postpone (ha, get it?!) publishing it for a little longer. SO, here is a little weekend review to tide you over:
On Saturday Audrey took some great naps for us, so we got a lot done. I cleaned the entire upstairs for the first time in two months (don’t worry – it’s been cleaned since then thanks to the maid service my in-laws treated us to!) In fact, the last time I cleaned it that well was the night/day I was in labor! To be honest, I enjoyed doing it myself again. I have no doubt that insanity has passed, though, and the next time it’s due I’ll dread it as usual. David got some yard work done and then we went out for a stroll around the park, some ice cream, and a trip to the library. We came home and then went back out to Publix, where, might I add, shopping is indeed a pleasure. I know I save more at Kroger, but I do so prefer Publix. Kind of similar to how Target is better than Wal-Mart even if it’s slightly more expensive. Somehow not running into barefoot screaming children around every corner makes the experience more enjoyable. (“Seriously, WHERE are your parents and WHY aren’t they parenting you?!”)
On Sunday we went to church for the first time in ages. We took Audrey with us to our small group and then left afterwards. The doctor recommended and we wholeheartedly agreed to wait until she was at least eight weeks old before putting her in a public nursery. Even though she just turned nine weeks on Saturday, she has not yet gotten her first round of immunizations. She’ll get those this week, which I know will require a blog update! Even after those, it’ll probably be another couple of weeks before I can bring myself to leave her. Some women can handle dropping their babies off at a much younger age, but I am not one of them. I do not judge that decision, and I hope that people don’t judge ours (though I really don’t care to be honest. Trying not to comparison-parent!) As long as she makes it in there before she is old enough for youth group, I’ll consider it a success.
Who knows when we’ll make it to a service again. She typically eats between 11:00 and 11:30 (our service starts at 11) and she usually takes 30 minutes to eat plus the time it takes me to get myself situated before and after. Throw in a diaper change and it’s easily a 45 minute ordeal. So, instead of going to the service for 15 minutes, we’re likely just going to make it to small group for awhile. And yes, I could pump and send her with a bottle. But do you want to know the dirty little secret that few people tell you when you’re pregnant? Even if you leave them with a bottle, you still have to pump relatively close to the time the baby eats. Otherwise, you can easily screw up your milk supply. At least, this is the case for me because I don’t exclusively pump. And, because I do it so infrequently, it takes me around twenty minutes to get the amount needed. Add the time it takes to clean and put away bottles and you’re up to about thirty minutes. Bottom line: It’s really not any more convenient nor does it save any time. It may extend my/our outings by about thirty minutes and allow David/others to take part in feeding her, but those are the only pros I’ve discovered so far.
Anyway, after we got home and fed Audrey, David’s parents came over and watched her while he and I went out for a little while. We went to lunch at O’Charley’s, FedEx Office (which I cannot quit calling Kinko’s) to pick up something David dropped off for work, Sam’s Club, and then walked enough of a lap around the park to get to a swing and sit down. We talked and enjoyed the cool(er) temps and breeze before heading back home to Audrey and, you guessed it, the dadgum pump.
Sunday night we managed to bathe Audrey, cook dinner, do laundry, and straighten up the downstairs before calling it quits and crashing in front of the TV after we put her down at 9:30. My hope is to finish cleaning the downstairs this afternoon so I can have the whole house clean at once, but we’ll see how well she naps/tolerates the Bjorn carrier while I sweep and vacuum!
I hope y’all have a good week! Check back for an update after the dreaded immunizations on Wednesday. And be sure to look at the new pictures in our gallery, including her two month perspective shots. You'll see that I also created an album just for those monthly perspective pictures so you can easily compare and see how quickly our baby girl is growing. Enjoy!
On Saturday Audrey took some great naps for us, so we got a lot done. I cleaned the entire upstairs for the first time in two months (don’t worry – it’s been cleaned since then thanks to the maid service my in-laws treated us to!) In fact, the last time I cleaned it that well was the night/day I was in labor! To be honest, I enjoyed doing it myself again. I have no doubt that insanity has passed, though, and the next time it’s due I’ll dread it as usual. David got some yard work done and then we went out for a stroll around the park, some ice cream, and a trip to the library. We came home and then went back out to Publix, where, might I add, shopping is indeed a pleasure. I know I save more at Kroger, but I do so prefer Publix. Kind of similar to how Target is better than Wal-Mart even if it’s slightly more expensive. Somehow not running into barefoot screaming children around every corner makes the experience more enjoyable. (“Seriously, WHERE are your parents and WHY aren’t they parenting you?!”)
On Sunday we went to church for the first time in ages. We took Audrey with us to our small group and then left afterwards. The doctor recommended and we wholeheartedly agreed to wait until she was at least eight weeks old before putting her in a public nursery. Even though she just turned nine weeks on Saturday, she has not yet gotten her first round of immunizations. She’ll get those this week, which I know will require a blog update! Even after those, it’ll probably be another couple of weeks before I can bring myself to leave her. Some women can handle dropping their babies off at a much younger age, but I am not one of them. I do not judge that decision, and I hope that people don’t judge ours (though I really don’t care to be honest. Trying not to comparison-parent!) As long as she makes it in there before she is old enough for youth group, I’ll consider it a success.
Who knows when we’ll make it to a service again. She typically eats between 11:00 and 11:30 (our service starts at 11) and she usually takes 30 minutes to eat plus the time it takes me to get myself situated before and after. Throw in a diaper change and it’s easily a 45 minute ordeal. So, instead of going to the service for 15 minutes, we’re likely just going to make it to small group for awhile. And yes, I could pump and send her with a bottle. But do you want to know the dirty little secret that few people tell you when you’re pregnant? Even if you leave them with a bottle, you still have to pump relatively close to the time the baby eats. Otherwise, you can easily screw up your milk supply. At least, this is the case for me because I don’t exclusively pump. And, because I do it so infrequently, it takes me around twenty minutes to get the amount needed. Add the time it takes to clean and put away bottles and you’re up to about thirty minutes. Bottom line: It’s really not any more convenient nor does it save any time. It may extend my/our outings by about thirty minutes and allow David/others to take part in feeding her, but those are the only pros I’ve discovered so far.
Anyway, after we got home and fed Audrey, David’s parents came over and watched her while he and I went out for a little while. We went to lunch at O’Charley’s, FedEx Office (which I cannot quit calling Kinko’s) to pick up something David dropped off for work, Sam’s Club, and then walked enough of a lap around the park to get to a swing and sit down. We talked and enjoyed the cool(er) temps and breeze before heading back home to Audrey and, you guessed it, the dadgum pump.
Sunday night we managed to bathe Audrey, cook dinner, do laundry, and straighten up the downstairs before calling it quits and crashing in front of the TV after we put her down at 9:30. My hope is to finish cleaning the downstairs this afternoon so I can have the whole house clean at once, but we’ll see how well she naps/tolerates the Bjorn carrier while I sweep and vacuum!
I hope y’all have a good week! Check back for an update after the dreaded immunizations on Wednesday. And be sure to look at the new pictures in our gallery, including her two month perspective shots. You'll see that I also created an album just for those monthly perspective pictures so you can easily compare and see how quickly our baby girl is growing. Enjoy!
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2 Replies
Thankful Thursday
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
I'm baaaaack! Our internet and cable television went out last Wednesday and just got fixed on Tuesday. I apologize to those of you who have been in despair over my absence. I know you've just been pining for updates! :)
We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed time with some sweet friends on Saturday. On Sunday we went for a long walk, came home, went back out to run errands and buy me some new tennis shoes, came home, and then went out to dinner. This week has been good so far, too. Audrey seemed to have a bit of a growth spurt during the early part of it and wanted to eat around the clock (hence all the coming home on Sunday.) Things have slowed down a little, though, so we're settling back into more of a routine...or as much of one as you can have with a two month old!
I wish I could say that a week without internet and cable has made me a better person. I would love to say that it made us realize that we don't need these modern technologies in our lives and that it required us to find other ways to pass what tiny amounts of free time we have. Sure, I want to report that we sat around and read thick, smart books and engaged in deep, meaningful conversations about them. Alas, we did not. It just made us realize that whatever we pay for these amenities is well worth it. It's just plain dangerous to take Facebook away from a stay-at-home mom who is already pretty cut off from the outside world.
So, I bet you can already guess some of this week's Thankful Thursday list! Read on anyway and check back soon for Audrey's 2 month perspective pics and a longer post that I hope to finish shortly!
We had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed time with some sweet friends on Saturday. On Sunday we went for a long walk, came home, went back out to run errands and buy me some new tennis shoes, came home, and then went out to dinner. This week has been good so far, too. Audrey seemed to have a bit of a growth spurt during the early part of it and wanted to eat around the clock (hence all the coming home on Sunday.) Things have slowed down a little, though, so we're settling back into more of a routine...or as much of one as you can have with a two month old!
I wish I could say that a week without internet and cable has made me a better person. I would love to say that it made us realize that we don't need these modern technologies in our lives and that it required us to find other ways to pass what tiny amounts of free time we have. Sure, I want to report that we sat around and read thick, smart books and engaged in deep, meaningful conversations about them. Alas, we did not. It just made us realize that whatever we pay for these amenities is well worth it. It's just plain dangerous to take Facebook away from a stay-at-home mom who is already pretty cut off from the outside world.
So, I bet you can already guess some of this week's Thankful Thursday list! Read on anyway and check back soon for Audrey's 2 month perspective pics and a longer post that I hope to finish shortly!
1. Audrey's Two Month "Birthday!" The greatest milestone she's achieved in the past month has been learning to smile on purpose. It is so unbelieveably precious, especially when she looks up at me and gives me a big grin in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. She is doing great these days and we can't wait to get a good report from the doctor at her check-up next week.
2. The internet and high-speed access to it.
3. Cable television and all it's mind-numbing qualities.
4. The chocolate that David brought back for me from Germany. There were several kinds and I've loved each of them so far. I've been having just a little piece each day and they are so dang yummy! And no, I haven't been walking much this week. Oh well.
5. My friends at Wolf Camera. Yes, I still print pictures. Apparently quite frequently, too, because these people know me by name. I love it! I'm sure we'll be keeping their kids' college accounts well-funded for years to come.
Have a great day!
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Eight Crazy Days and Nights
Monday, August 10, 2009
For the past eight days, David has been in Europe on business. Needless to say, it has been a very challenging week. I have the utmost respect for single moms and military wives! I really don’t know how they do it day after day. I suppose you learn to do what you have to do, but the strength of those women is definitely admirable.
He left last Saturday afternoon, leaving me holding six week old Audrey in my arms and crying way more than she was. In fact, as he hugged us both goodbye she seemed more annoyed that we were interrupting her nap than anything else. It was a sad scene that I’m no doubt over dramatizing, but it was traumatic for our new little family.
We began Sunday morning with a walk around the neighborhood park. We had planned to go over my Dad’s that afternoon, but plans changed so we went to Blockbuster to pick out a movie instead. Audrey took a great nap for me when we got back and I almost managed to make it through all of “Made of Honor.” (Yeah, how long has that movie been out? That goes to show that I wasn’t up-to-date on my chick flicks long before she arrived!) I think she sensed that I needed to ease into the solo parenting thing, hence the long nap. She didn’t do so badly that night either, thank goodness.
Monday morning dawned and I got up extra early to shower and get ready for my 6 week postpartum check-up. My mother-in-law came over around 10:30 to keep Audrey and after she patiently listened to my instructions, I left for the doctor’s office. My check-up went fine and I made my next appointment for April. It’s so weird that it’s going to be that long before I go back! It sounds silly, but I’m going to miss seeing the nurses and office managers up there. You get used to going so frequently!
Monday afternoon we took a very quick walk in the heat. The park we go to has a ton of shade, so I thought we could safely go out for a little while without Audrey overheating. I hooked up the portable fan to her stroller and booked it around the loop a couple of times. Afterwards, we ran by Publix to pick up some groceries. When we got home, I took another shower and we enjoyed the rest of the evening in the AC. That night’s rest was broken up and rough, but we made it.
On Tuesday, Audrey and I met a fellow Mommy friend and her 9 month old at the mall for lunch. We ate, walked, and talked nonstop about the adventures of motherhood. It is such a blessing to have women in my life who are at the same stage that I am. I feel like we’re in the trenches together and, though I can’t offer much wisdom in return yet, trading war stories is a huge encouragement.
When bedtime came Tuesday night, I summoned the courage to strictly employ the “cry it out” method. We try to put her down “drowsy, but awake” as all the books suggest. That way she gets used to soothing herself to sleep. (There are times that she’s out so quickly we don’t make it in time. When that happens, we obviously don’t wake her up just to put her back down.) Anyway, sometimes she goes down just fine and falls asleep quickly. Other times she starts crying immediately or falls asleep and then wakes up a few minutes later crying.
SO, now that we seem to have a slight handle on her eating schedule, I felt ready to move on to the next challenge. I’d been doing a lot of reading on infant’s sleeping habits/schedules and methods to deal with them. A lot of experts said there wasn’t much point in trying to establish anything before three months of age, but I was determined to at least to try and see if we could get a loose routine going. Besides, our kid is a genius, so she is bound to hit the milestones earlier, right?
David and I had been letting Audrey cry a little fairly regularly since she’s been in her crib, only going in after about 5-10 minutes to put a pacifier in her mouth or pat her on the back. However, as we’re learning, “fairly regularly” doesn’t really count in parenting. Consistency is so dang important, even at her very young age. And, apparently, 5-10 minutes wasn’t really giving her adequate time to settle herself down.
Let me tell you, though, it is a horrible feeling to hear your baby crying her eyes out while you sit there and do nothing. Especially when your husband is on the other side of the world and you’re wondering if you’re making the right call. I just kept reminding myself that she was full, she was dry, and she wasn’t sick. I sat there praying while tears streamed down my cheeks and my stomach was in knots. I remember wondering what on earth I was doing. I would walk through fire for this kid and there I sat doing nothing while she was miserable!!! I thought about how Christ must feel when we’re going through a tough situation and He has to watch us endure it. I imagined how His heart must break wanting to “fix it” but knowing it’s for our own good and growth. Just one of the many lessons and parallels God is teaching me through little AJ.
Anyway, we made it. After fifteen minutes, she stopped crying (and so did I) and then she slept for 5 hours straight…going 6 hours between feedings! That meant I got five hours of consecutive sleep!
On Wednesday, Audrey and I got up and went walking before it got too terribly hot. (Are you noticing an exercising trend here? More on that later in a later post, though!) Around lunchtime, we had a couple of sweet visitors stop by to see us. When they left, she took a great nap and then I gave her a bath. Wednesday night, David’s parents came over and babysat while I met up with a friend for dinner. More encouragement, laughter, and war-swapping stories ensued. I ran into some traffic on the way home and remembered not even caring. I took the extra few minutes to enjoy the blaring radio and watch people in other cars. Don’t get me wrong, I still miss her like crazy when I’m away from her (especially when I catch a whiff of her sweet baby smell on my shirt), but I try to put it out of my mind and make the most of the break. I truly believe those few shorts hours away make me a better mommy!
When I got home, I found out Audrey had had some stomach issues while I was gone. The poor baby hadn’t “gone” since mid-morning (way out of character for her!) and was clearly not comfortable. I prepared myself for the worst and set out for what I expected would be a very long night. I prayed and asked God to either make her comfy or give me the endurance I would need to stay up. I fed her and timidly put her down in her crib at 10:45. She slept without a peep until 5am, going 6 ½ hours between feedings!!! Meaning I got 6 hours of straight sleep! Yet another record-breaking night. And, when I changed her at that feeding, she had clearly worked out her problem. Thank you, Jesus!!!
Thursday was a relatively uneventful day. Laundry, bottle washing, feedings, diaper changes, etc. etc. etc. We went up to the mall that afternoon so I could check out The Children’s Place Monster Sale and stock up on a few things for next summer. The prices were crazy cheap and I got some cute stuff. Since I’m not positive she’ll be in 12 months size then, I didn’t spend a whole lot of money. I just chose an amount that I’d be comfortable spending if she didn’t wear a thing and decided that, worst case scenario, our church’s clothes closet may get some brand new stuff if she can’t wear it! When I went to check out, their credit/debit card machine was broken so I had to put it on hold. I spent so long picking stuff out that we didn’t get to do any laps around the mall as I’d intended. We came home and spent the rest of the evening in our typical eat, sleep, dirty diaper cycle. That night, Audrey reverted back to her two shift schedule, waking up after only four hours to eat. That’s not nearly as fun as getting six hours straight.
Friday started out a little rough. I got up and got us both ready to head to the mall to pick up the clothes I had put on hold and do some laps in the air conditioning. I loaded us into the car and turned the key to start the engine. A sound that resembled a machine gun rang out and it wouldn’t start. Hmmm. I tried it again. Nothing. Now, I’ve had a little bit of experience with car trouble, so I was perplexed at this new noise. If it was the battery, it wasn’t supposed to make any noise, right? And I hadn’t left any doors open or the lights on. In fact, I was able to turn the lights on, so it I figured it couldn’t be the battery. I called David, because surely there was something he could do from the middle of Germany. I had him listen to the sound over the phone and he guessed battery, but couldn’t be sure. He rattled off a list of guys I could call to come over and help. I hung up the phone, wishing more than ever that he was home. It was at this moment that I heard another noise. This one was all too familiar and it came from the back seat. Audrey’s red, scrunched up face let me know I was in for a doozie of a diaper change. I got her out, only to discover that for the first time, Pampers had failed us. She’d had a major blow out in her car seat. Well, crap. (Literally.) She started crying and then I started crying. This day was not off to a good start at all.
Long story short, I got her cleaned up and called a friend that lives down the road. He came right over and jumped the 4 Runner off. Since that confirmed it was the battery, we had to figure out how to get it replaced a.s.a.p. I looked at the clock and did a quick calculation of when she was due to eat again. I figured we could make it and prayed I was right. We jumped in our cars and he followed me up the street to Advanced Auto Parts, making sure it ran well enough to get us up there.
The sales clerk went into great detail about my three battery choices. Shaking off the mommy cobwebs in my brain, I tried to utilize my business head. With the cheapest, you probably get what you pay for. With the most expensive, you’re just paying for name brand and packaging. So I told her to give me the middle option and spoke it with authority so she’d think I knew what the heck I was talking about. They got it installed extremely quickly and we made it home safe and sound for Audrey’s next feeding. Which was a good thing, too. I really did not want to have to deal with that in the middle of Advanced Auto Parts. I totally would have for the sake of my child, of course. I bet they would’ve knocked off at least 25%. Hmmm…something to think about for next time. Anyway, I was so thankful that our friend was able to come right over and rescue us. It’s a huge blessing to have people so close by that are willing to come to my aid when David is out of town!
Speaking of sweet friends, we had a visitor come over for just a minute after lunch. She’s expecting her third in October and came by to drop something off on her way home from the gym – my hero! After she left and Audrey woke up, she and I set out for the trip we’d planned to take earlier in the day. We picked up the clothes that were on hold and after calmly talking the manager into honoring the sale’s prices from the day before since their machines had been down, we walked two laps (equaling two miles) around the mall. Before we left, I decided to stop by a shoe store since my feet have apparently decided that they are permanently going to remain ½ size bigger than they were pre-pregnancy. As I wheeled the stroller passed a full-length mirror, I caught sight of myself and stopped short. My face was beat-red and my sweaty hair was plastered to my forehead. It looked like I’d just finished an hour at spin class, not a two mile walk around the mall. (Though, in my defense, I was hauling and finished in 26 minutes.) I could have been embarrassed. I could have thought about how pathetic it was that I am that out of shape and think longingly back to the body I had before I carried, birthed, and now provided sole nourishment for a human being. But I decided not to. Instead, I chose to be proud that my reflection was not staring back at me with a soft pretzel in one hand and a Cinnabon in the other, as my cravings were begging it to be. I dabbed my face off, held my head high, and pushed Audrey over to the totally impractical high-heeled section. Hey – there is no shame in using every trick in the book to look skinnier!
Once we got home, David’s parents came over to stay with Audrey while I went out for some more downtime. I got a pedicure and then went to Starbucks to sit in the middle of other adults who looked way more interesting and sophisticated than I felt. I kicked back in one of the big comfy chairs I’d dreamed about all day, totally content, sipping my decaf coffee that I’d verified was decaf at least three times with the barista. (“Are you sure, sir?! Because you have no idea what’s at stake here!”) I wrote most of this blog there and then returned home to snuggle with (and feed, of course) my baby before putting her to bed. She had another decent night of sleep, thank goodness.
On Saturday, we got up and went to the park for a walk. (This is totally unrelated, but when we pulled in, I noticed an orange bus in the parking lot that had the county’s correction center text on the side. Is that really a good idea? To have them doing their community service at a public park around children? They packed it in and left before I had to decide whether or not to stick around.) Anyway, we walked 2.5 miles and went home. That afternoon, we headed over to my dad’s to visit with him, my grandmother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. This was quite a feat for us since we’d never taken Audrey out of the county before, let alone one of us handling it by ourselves! We had a nice time hanging out and trying to keep up with my nephew Carson. At almost 16 months old, he is 100% boy and a force to be reckoned with! After I fed Audrey and then ate dinner, we packed up to head back to our side of town. I tried to time things just right, but there was construction on one of the interstates on the way home, so I cut it closer than I would have liked. Audrey was quite a good sport, though, and we got back just in time for her to eat again. Afterwards, I gave her a bath, did some laundry, fed her again, and put us both to bed.
Sunday morning, after another decent night’s sleep, we got up and got the day started. I was so ecstatic because, finally, David was due home in the afternoon. Audrey, apparently unaware of the good news despite my constant reminders, seemed extra cranky for some reason. Nothing seemed to soothe her and I was losing my patience quickly. I reminded myself what a shame it would be for me to kill the child on the day her Dad was coming home. I could hear the jury now...“Really? She couldn’t hang in there a few more hours?!” Of course I’m joking. Unless there’s a chance that sentencing would include solitary confinement. Then maybe…
Anyway, when she went down for her mid-morning nap, I thought it best to lie down for a little extra sleep too. When she woke up, I tried to think of it as a fresh start to the day. She didn’t so much get that memo. Anyway, we made it (I bet I looked at the clock 1,000 times!) and even managed to get to the grocery store that afternoon. David got home around 4:30pm and immediately decided Audrey had grown an inch since he left. We stayed in and enjoyed each other’s company the rest of the night.
So, that’s been the last eight crazy nights and days. Probably in much greater detail than you cared to read, but I needed to document it for my own therapeutic relief! We survived by the grace of God and with the help of grandparents. I’m so very thankful that David is home safe and sound and look forward to settling back into dual-parenting again! I KNOW we’ll have a good week – I hope you do too!
Be sure to check out the latest pictures in our album, including the daily photos we sent to David while he was away.
He left last Saturday afternoon, leaving me holding six week old Audrey in my arms and crying way more than she was. In fact, as he hugged us both goodbye she seemed more annoyed that we were interrupting her nap than anything else. It was a sad scene that I’m no doubt over dramatizing, but it was traumatic for our new little family.
We began Sunday morning with a walk around the neighborhood park. We had planned to go over my Dad’s that afternoon, but plans changed so we went to Blockbuster to pick out a movie instead. Audrey took a great nap for me when we got back and I almost managed to make it through all of “Made of Honor.” (Yeah, how long has that movie been out? That goes to show that I wasn’t up-to-date on my chick flicks long before she arrived!) I think she sensed that I needed to ease into the solo parenting thing, hence the long nap. She didn’t do so badly that night either, thank goodness.
Monday morning dawned and I got up extra early to shower and get ready for my 6 week postpartum check-up. My mother-in-law came over around 10:30 to keep Audrey and after she patiently listened to my instructions, I left for the doctor’s office. My check-up went fine and I made my next appointment for April. It’s so weird that it’s going to be that long before I go back! It sounds silly, but I’m going to miss seeing the nurses and office managers up there. You get used to going so frequently!
Monday afternoon we took a very quick walk in the heat. The park we go to has a ton of shade, so I thought we could safely go out for a little while without Audrey overheating. I hooked up the portable fan to her stroller and booked it around the loop a couple of times. Afterwards, we ran by Publix to pick up some groceries. When we got home, I took another shower and we enjoyed the rest of the evening in the AC. That night’s rest was broken up and rough, but we made it.
On Tuesday, Audrey and I met a fellow Mommy friend and her 9 month old at the mall for lunch. We ate, walked, and talked nonstop about the adventures of motherhood. It is such a blessing to have women in my life who are at the same stage that I am. I feel like we’re in the trenches together and, though I can’t offer much wisdom in return yet, trading war stories is a huge encouragement.
When bedtime came Tuesday night, I summoned the courage to strictly employ the “cry it out” method. We try to put her down “drowsy, but awake” as all the books suggest. That way she gets used to soothing herself to sleep. (There are times that she’s out so quickly we don’t make it in time. When that happens, we obviously don’t wake her up just to put her back down.) Anyway, sometimes she goes down just fine and falls asleep quickly. Other times she starts crying immediately or falls asleep and then wakes up a few minutes later crying.
SO, now that we seem to have a slight handle on her eating schedule, I felt ready to move on to the next challenge. I’d been doing a lot of reading on infant’s sleeping habits/schedules and methods to deal with them. A lot of experts said there wasn’t much point in trying to establish anything before three months of age, but I was determined to at least to try and see if we could get a loose routine going. Besides, our kid is a genius, so she is bound to hit the milestones earlier, right?
David and I had been letting Audrey cry a little fairly regularly since she’s been in her crib, only going in after about 5-10 minutes to put a pacifier in her mouth or pat her on the back. However, as we’re learning, “fairly regularly” doesn’t really count in parenting. Consistency is so dang important, even at her very young age. And, apparently, 5-10 minutes wasn’t really giving her adequate time to settle herself down.
Let me tell you, though, it is a horrible feeling to hear your baby crying her eyes out while you sit there and do nothing. Especially when your husband is on the other side of the world and you’re wondering if you’re making the right call. I just kept reminding myself that she was full, she was dry, and she wasn’t sick. I sat there praying while tears streamed down my cheeks and my stomach was in knots. I remember wondering what on earth I was doing. I would walk through fire for this kid and there I sat doing nothing while she was miserable!!! I thought about how Christ must feel when we’re going through a tough situation and He has to watch us endure it. I imagined how His heart must break wanting to “fix it” but knowing it’s for our own good and growth. Just one of the many lessons and parallels God is teaching me through little AJ.
Anyway, we made it. After fifteen minutes, she stopped crying (and so did I) and then she slept for 5 hours straight…going 6 hours between feedings! That meant I got five hours of consecutive sleep!
On Wednesday, Audrey and I got up and went walking before it got too terribly hot. (Are you noticing an exercising trend here? More on that later in a later post, though!) Around lunchtime, we had a couple of sweet visitors stop by to see us. When they left, she took a great nap and then I gave her a bath. Wednesday night, David’s parents came over and babysat while I met up with a friend for dinner. More encouragement, laughter, and war-swapping stories ensued. I ran into some traffic on the way home and remembered not even caring. I took the extra few minutes to enjoy the blaring radio and watch people in other cars. Don’t get me wrong, I still miss her like crazy when I’m away from her (especially when I catch a whiff of her sweet baby smell on my shirt), but I try to put it out of my mind and make the most of the break. I truly believe those few shorts hours away make me a better mommy!
When I got home, I found out Audrey had had some stomach issues while I was gone. The poor baby hadn’t “gone” since mid-morning (way out of character for her!) and was clearly not comfortable. I prepared myself for the worst and set out for what I expected would be a very long night. I prayed and asked God to either make her comfy or give me the endurance I would need to stay up. I fed her and timidly put her down in her crib at 10:45. She slept without a peep until 5am, going 6 ½ hours between feedings!!! Meaning I got 6 hours of straight sleep! Yet another record-breaking night. And, when I changed her at that feeding, she had clearly worked out her problem. Thank you, Jesus!!!
Thursday was a relatively uneventful day. Laundry, bottle washing, feedings, diaper changes, etc. etc. etc. We went up to the mall that afternoon so I could check out The Children’s Place Monster Sale and stock up on a few things for next summer. The prices were crazy cheap and I got some cute stuff. Since I’m not positive she’ll be in 12 months size then, I didn’t spend a whole lot of money. I just chose an amount that I’d be comfortable spending if she didn’t wear a thing and decided that, worst case scenario, our church’s clothes closet may get some brand new stuff if she can’t wear it! When I went to check out, their credit/debit card machine was broken so I had to put it on hold. I spent so long picking stuff out that we didn’t get to do any laps around the mall as I’d intended. We came home and spent the rest of the evening in our typical eat, sleep, dirty diaper cycle. That night, Audrey reverted back to her two shift schedule, waking up after only four hours to eat. That’s not nearly as fun as getting six hours straight.
Friday started out a little rough. I got up and got us both ready to head to the mall to pick up the clothes I had put on hold and do some laps in the air conditioning. I loaded us into the car and turned the key to start the engine. A sound that resembled a machine gun rang out and it wouldn’t start. Hmmm. I tried it again. Nothing. Now, I’ve had a little bit of experience with car trouble, so I was perplexed at this new noise. If it was the battery, it wasn’t supposed to make any noise, right? And I hadn’t left any doors open or the lights on. In fact, I was able to turn the lights on, so it I figured it couldn’t be the battery. I called David, because surely there was something he could do from the middle of Germany. I had him listen to the sound over the phone and he guessed battery, but couldn’t be sure. He rattled off a list of guys I could call to come over and help. I hung up the phone, wishing more than ever that he was home. It was at this moment that I heard another noise. This one was all too familiar and it came from the back seat. Audrey’s red, scrunched up face let me know I was in for a doozie of a diaper change. I got her out, only to discover that for the first time, Pampers had failed us. She’d had a major blow out in her car seat. Well, crap. (Literally.) She started crying and then I started crying. This day was not off to a good start at all.
Long story short, I got her cleaned up and called a friend that lives down the road. He came right over and jumped the 4 Runner off. Since that confirmed it was the battery, we had to figure out how to get it replaced a.s.a.p. I looked at the clock and did a quick calculation of when she was due to eat again. I figured we could make it and prayed I was right. We jumped in our cars and he followed me up the street to Advanced Auto Parts, making sure it ran well enough to get us up there.
The sales clerk went into great detail about my three battery choices. Shaking off the mommy cobwebs in my brain, I tried to utilize my business head. With the cheapest, you probably get what you pay for. With the most expensive, you’re just paying for name brand and packaging. So I told her to give me the middle option and spoke it with authority so she’d think I knew what the heck I was talking about. They got it installed extremely quickly and we made it home safe and sound for Audrey’s next feeding. Which was a good thing, too. I really did not want to have to deal with that in the middle of Advanced Auto Parts. I totally would have for the sake of my child, of course. I bet they would’ve knocked off at least 25%. Hmmm…something to think about for next time. Anyway, I was so thankful that our friend was able to come right over and rescue us. It’s a huge blessing to have people so close by that are willing to come to my aid when David is out of town!
Speaking of sweet friends, we had a visitor come over for just a minute after lunch. She’s expecting her third in October and came by to drop something off on her way home from the gym – my hero! After she left and Audrey woke up, she and I set out for the trip we’d planned to take earlier in the day. We picked up the clothes that were on hold and after calmly talking the manager into honoring the sale’s prices from the day before since their machines had been down, we walked two laps (equaling two miles) around the mall. Before we left, I decided to stop by a shoe store since my feet have apparently decided that they are permanently going to remain ½ size bigger than they were pre-pregnancy. As I wheeled the stroller passed a full-length mirror, I caught sight of myself and stopped short. My face was beat-red and my sweaty hair was plastered to my forehead. It looked like I’d just finished an hour at spin class, not a two mile walk around the mall. (Though, in my defense, I was hauling and finished in 26 minutes.) I could have been embarrassed. I could have thought about how pathetic it was that I am that out of shape and think longingly back to the body I had before I carried, birthed, and now provided sole nourishment for a human being. But I decided not to. Instead, I chose to be proud that my reflection was not staring back at me with a soft pretzel in one hand and a Cinnabon in the other, as my cravings were begging it to be. I dabbed my face off, held my head high, and pushed Audrey over to the totally impractical high-heeled section. Hey – there is no shame in using every trick in the book to look skinnier!
Once we got home, David’s parents came over to stay with Audrey while I went out for some more downtime. I got a pedicure and then went to Starbucks to sit in the middle of other adults who looked way more interesting and sophisticated than I felt. I kicked back in one of the big comfy chairs I’d dreamed about all day, totally content, sipping my decaf coffee that I’d verified was decaf at least three times with the barista. (“Are you sure, sir?! Because you have no idea what’s at stake here!”) I wrote most of this blog there and then returned home to snuggle with (and feed, of course) my baby before putting her to bed. She had another decent night of sleep, thank goodness.
On Saturday, we got up and went to the park for a walk. (This is totally unrelated, but when we pulled in, I noticed an orange bus in the parking lot that had the county’s correction center text on the side. Is that really a good idea? To have them doing their community service at a public park around children? They packed it in and left before I had to decide whether or not to stick around.) Anyway, we walked 2.5 miles and went home. That afternoon, we headed over to my dad’s to visit with him, my grandmother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. This was quite a feat for us since we’d never taken Audrey out of the county before, let alone one of us handling it by ourselves! We had a nice time hanging out and trying to keep up with my nephew Carson. At almost 16 months old, he is 100% boy and a force to be reckoned with! After I fed Audrey and then ate dinner, we packed up to head back to our side of town. I tried to time things just right, but there was construction on one of the interstates on the way home, so I cut it closer than I would have liked. Audrey was quite a good sport, though, and we got back just in time for her to eat again. Afterwards, I gave her a bath, did some laundry, fed her again, and put us both to bed.
Sunday morning, after another decent night’s sleep, we got up and got the day started. I was so ecstatic because, finally, David was due home in the afternoon. Audrey, apparently unaware of the good news despite my constant reminders, seemed extra cranky for some reason. Nothing seemed to soothe her and I was losing my patience quickly. I reminded myself what a shame it would be for me to kill the child on the day her Dad was coming home. I could hear the jury now...“Really? She couldn’t hang in there a few more hours?!” Of course I’m joking. Unless there’s a chance that sentencing would include solitary confinement. Then maybe…
Anyway, when she went down for her mid-morning nap, I thought it best to lie down for a little extra sleep too. When she woke up, I tried to think of it as a fresh start to the day. She didn’t so much get that memo. Anyway, we made it (I bet I looked at the clock 1,000 times!) and even managed to get to the grocery store that afternoon. David got home around 4:30pm and immediately decided Audrey had grown an inch since he left. We stayed in and enjoyed each other’s company the rest of the night.
So, that’s been the last eight crazy nights and days. Probably in much greater detail than you cared to read, but I needed to document it for my own therapeutic relief! We survived by the grace of God and with the help of grandparents. I’m so very thankful that David is home safe and sound and look forward to settling back into dual-parenting again! I KNOW we’ll have a good week – I hope you do too!
Be sure to check out the latest pictures in our album, including the daily photos we sent to David while he was away.
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Thankful Thursday
Thursday, August 6, 2009
This post is going to be very brief...hopefully I'll be able to update more soon!
Here is this week's list:
1. A good report at my 6-week postpartum check-up. My doctor asked (again) if I was going to "let" him deliver the next one. I told him A) it's way too soon to talk about "the next one" and B) that was up to him and his schedule! I was HERE, YOU'RE the one that left, remember? But I do really like him and appreciate all he did to take care of us through the pregnancy. He's a great Christian guy and a wonderful doctor. So maybe that counts as two things I'm thankful for!
2. Audrey's recent nighttime sleep! On Tuesday night, she went six hours between feedings, meaning I got five consecutive hours of sleep. Last night she went six and half hours between feedings and I went to bed earlier, so I got SIX straight hours of sleep. I haven't gotten that many in a row since about my 6th month of pregnancy! I was almost tempted to just get up and start the day after I fed her and put her back down, but I resisted and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Praise God for rest and let us hope it continues!
3. My in-laws! I'll expand on that later!
4. Lots of maternity clothes that I can no longer fit in! I started cleaning out my closet today while AJ was napping and, thankfully, there are a lot of things that are just too big and needed to be packed away. Darn. (We won't even talk about the maternity things that still fit that I'm keeping in there. I've decided as long as I don't drop her off at Kindergarten wearing them, then I'm good.)
5. Clothes that Audrey can no longer fit in. I did a little cleaning out of her closet too. Truly, it breaks my heart to see the pile that she has already outgrown, but I'm choosing to focus on the positive. That just means that she is a healthy, growing baby and I'm so very grateful for that!!!
Here is this week's list:
1. A good report at my 6-week postpartum check-up. My doctor asked (again) if I was going to "let" him deliver the next one. I told him A) it's way too soon to talk about "the next one" and B) that was up to him and his schedule! I was HERE, YOU'RE the one that left, remember? But I do really like him and appreciate all he did to take care of us through the pregnancy. He's a great Christian guy and a wonderful doctor. So maybe that counts as two things I'm thankful for!
2. Audrey's recent nighttime sleep! On Tuesday night, she went six hours between feedings, meaning I got five consecutive hours of sleep. Last night she went six and half hours between feedings and I went to bed earlier, so I got SIX straight hours of sleep. I haven't gotten that many in a row since about my 6th month of pregnancy! I was almost tempted to just get up and start the day after I fed her and put her back down, but I resisted and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. Praise God for rest and let us hope it continues!
3. My in-laws! I'll expand on that later!
4. Lots of maternity clothes that I can no longer fit in! I started cleaning out my closet today while AJ was napping and, thankfully, there are a lot of things that are just too big and needed to be packed away. Darn. (We won't even talk about the maternity things that still fit that I'm keeping in there. I've decided as long as I don't drop her off at Kindergarten wearing them, then I'm good.)
5. Clothes that Audrey can no longer fit in. I did a little cleaning out of her closet too. Truly, it breaks my heart to see the pile that she has already outgrown, but I'm choosing to focus on the positive. That just means that she is a healthy, growing baby and I'm so very grateful for that!!!
I know I usually only list five things but I couldn't resist expressing my gratitude for this:
She started showing us her first "real" smiles this week and they are so incredibly precious!
I'll update more soon!!! Have a great rest of the week!
I'll update more soon!!! Have a great rest of the week!
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Picture Gallery Updated
Monday, August 3, 2009
Check 'em out! Click under "Links" on the right side of this page, then "Our Photos", then select the album titled "Audrey's Second Month".
Enjoy! I'll update more later!
Enjoy! I'll update more later!
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